Environmental Stewardship Closes September 18, 2014 12:00 am Natural England has announced new applications to the ELS, OELS and UELS will not be accepted after 26th September 2014. The ELS online system will close at 11.59pm on that date. Existing agreements will continue until the end of their commitment, but no new agreements will be possible after the 26th. For those already in the process of submitting an HLS application, the deadline for this remains as agreed with the individual Natural England advisor. New applications to Environmental Stewardship have already been restricted through 2014. ELS has only been available for underpinning new HLS agreements and for land coming out of the classic (ESA, CSS) agreements which did not meet the HLS criteria. Upland and Organic ELS have both been more widely available. Where land is sold or leased, it may still be possible to transfer the Environmental Stewardship commitment. The transitional guidance for transfers runs until the end of 2014, but Natural England are advising LTA1 (land transfer) forms are returned as soon as possible to ‘avoid disappointment’. There is currently no guidance for transfers after 2014 (!).
